


The New Year's Poly Companion Piece

by charmlesstrans (casketgowns)



Series: Polyverse! [2]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff, Multi, New Year's Fluff, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 13:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5628469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casketgowns/pseuds/charmlesstrans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a companion piece to my Christmas poly fic, Funny You Should Ask. After writing that one, I couldn't get my mind off a great idea I had for a New Year's poly fic! I fucked with the canon a bit again, since Frank actually still lives in Jersey, but oh well!</p><p>Please enjoy, and leave comments & kudos if you really enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Year's Poly Companion Piece

“C’mon Gee, you can’t walk so slow!” Frank called behind him as he practically dragged Gerard by the hand through the mass of people filling in every inch of Times Square. Gerard was desperately trying to hold onto Frank with an iron grip so he wouldn’t lose him, but that coupled with trying to hold onto Lynz with an iron grip so he wouldn’t lose _her_ was difficult. It was all made to be even more of a task with the fact that Gerard had to keep a vigilant eye to navigate, surveying everything in his field of vision at one time, and processing it as fast as possible, in a city that was always bustling, moving too fast for the average person to keep up with.

 

Of course Frank and Lindsey were doing the same things he was: holding on for dear life and not taking their eyes off their surroundings. Frank by far had the most difficult job, as he was the one leading the three of them, weaving in and out of crowds and squeezing into spaces (spaces that were, in Gerard’s opinion, only accessible to Frank’s small, compact body.) He seemed to be an expert at herding people through large cities. Either that, or he was just really determined to get a good spot to see the infamous ball drop.

 

It was likely the latter reason. Frank had brought up the idea of going into the city for New Year’s Eve to a hesitant Gerard and Lindsey as soon as the three of them, and Bandit,  arrived at his mother’s house in Jersey on December 27th.

 

“C’mon, guys, it’s like something you have to do on New Years at least once. It would be un-American of us not to!” Frank had pleaded when Gerard laughed at the idea and refused.

Gerard snorted. “I’d rather be ‘un-American’ than fight for my life among thousands of people just trying to get a glimpse of Ryan Seacrest.”

 

Frank had pouted, went off to his old bedroom and sulked for half an hour while Gerard and Lynz had caught up with Frank’s mother, letting her know about the “engagement” and helping her fix dinner. 

 

“He won’t stop until he gets his way, and I’m sure the both of you already know that,” Linda commented while she was making pasta sauce.

Gerard sighed. “I know. I just would feel so uneasy going to the city on such a busy night. Especially with Bandit, it could be so dangerous.” He worried at his thumb nail, not bothering to mention what the city would do for his own personal anxiety.

“Well, don’t be silly. I wouldn’t want a child that age going to Times Square on New Year's Eve either! Who would! You could leave her here with me. We’ll watch the program on TV and she can look for you. That’s all the excitement she’ll need on New Year's anyway,” Linda continued calmly, tossing chopped onions in the sauce pan.

 

Lindsey looked over at Gerard, her eyes read “the two of them definitely planned this.” Gerard shot her back an “I fucking know” look. The couple was stuck. 

“That’s very generous of you, Mrs. Iero. Thank you for offering, and I think we’ll take you up on that,” Lindsey responded, looking at Gerard the whole time as she talked. Gerard gave a pleading look.

“Great! And don’t you worry about anything. That’s what marriage is all about isn’t it? Compromise. No matter how many people are involved,” she turned around to face them. “Oh, and please, call me Linda.”

 

                                                                                    -------------

 

Thanks to Linda Iero and The Great Compromise, Gerard was stuck with a constricting chest and pounding heart in the middle of America’s biggest city on the busiest night of the year. On top of the fact that Gerard’s anxiety was flaring up at the presence of so many people in such a confined space, he was also nervous about another, arguably more important, impending problem.

 

For the first time in years, he had no idea who he was going to kiss at midnight. 

 

In the past, New Year's Eve had not functioned as a holiday that concerned Gerard, Lindsey, and Frank. In fact, in the past, most holidays did not function with the three of them present at one time. With Frank being the side relationship, Gerard usually celebrated holidays twice. Once with Lindsey and Bandit, and again with just Frank. New Year's Eve wasn’t that important though, and him and Frank had shared plenty of New Year's kisses in the years before Gerard’s marriage, so they rarely celebrated it together. 

 

With the recent development of their relationship, though, Gerard was now faced with a choice. Should he kiss his wife at midnight, or his _Frank?_ The thought of having to choose made Gerard want to hurl. The very reason why polyamory worked for him was now turning around to slap him in the face. 

 

He couldn’t get the thought off of his mind. It first entered his thoughts while the three of them were having dinner at a favorite New Jersey diner of Frank’s, his treat. They all sat in a wraparound booth near the back of the diner, with Gerard in the middle and Lynz and Frank on each side. As they were all chatting and trying to choose what to order, Frank had slyly slipped a hand into Gerard’s that was laying on the tabletop, twirling his wedding ring in that anxious habit of his. Frank had placed steady fingers on the movement as reassurance, and laced their fingers together casually. This was something they had done a million times before, and it always calmed Gerard down, and brought him into solid reality. At that moment though, it only brought him sheer terror as his eyes immediately darted to Lindsey at his side, who was busy reading menu items and hadn’t even noticed. 

 

Even though he and Frank had held hands in public more times than they could count, they had never held hands in front of Lindsey, and for some reason Gerard felt like that was ultimate taboo, even when Gerard knew well that they all consented to the polyamorous nature of their relationships. Gerard never knew when he would grow accustomed to the wonderful freedom of having both Lindsey and Frank.

 

At any rate, that moment was not the moment he would grow accustomed to it, as Lynz turned her head from the menu. 

“Hey, babe, which do you think would be better: the cuban sandwich or the chicken salad? I can’t decide.”

 

Gerard was struck without speech as he felt the heavy weight of Frank’s hand in his and the heavy weight of the slowly drifting eyes of his wife. She flickered her gaze to their intertwined hands once, fast, and then her eyes were back in line with his, and her red lipstick smile had not faltered. 

 

“I, um, I always like chicken salad,” he responded quietly. 

Lindsey seemed to have not missed one beat. “Yeah, you do. I usually do too, I guess. I’m sure anything I order will be great, anyway.” She turned back to the slick pages of the menu without one more glance in the direction of his and Frank’s hands.

 

That’s when the thought hit him. The thought that he would have to choose between Lindsey and Frank at midnight, and that either way he went he would break the other one’s heart. It didn’t matter if Lindsey didn’t mind the hand holding. It didn’t matter that Lindsey had been so open to the idea of Frank moving in with them, and had never shown opposition to the idea of polyamory. It didn’t matter that Lindsey was the best wife in the world and the most easy-going woman alive. Gerard still couldn’t stand the mere possibility of disappointing her.

 

Gerard barely heard the conversation during dinner, and the weight on his chest didn’t even lift when Frank let go of his hand to eat his veggie burger. Gerard’s mind couldn’t get rid of the choice he had to make. 

 

                                                                                          ------------

 

Even as the three of them all held hands and continued to wind around the crowded sidewalks of Time’s Square, Gerard couldn’t help but think of the decision he had to make at midnight. Once Frank seemed to have found the spot amongst the crowd that he had been searching for, they all huddled together in the chilly weather, trying to keep each other warm. Frank grabbed Gerard’s hands that were without gloves and tried to provide heat by blowing on them and rubbing them together with his gloved ones. Frank was beaming ear to ear, and looked silly in his bright orange hat. Gerard was about to lean in and kiss him when he thought of Lindsey who was standing behind him. Both of his hands were already occupied by Frank, so he couldn’t hold one of Lindsey’s. The whole time they had been walking, Gerard had taken comfort in the fact that two hands meant participation for two people, but now Frank had his full attention and he was nervous again about how Lindsey felt. 

 

Suddenly, he felt the warm nuzzle of Lindsey’s chin on his shoulder and her nose in his hair. She wrapped her arms around his waist too and he felt her grin over his shoulder at Frank. 

 

“Man, Gee, I don’t know why we never thought of this before! Three people really works to keep the whole body warm. My turn next!” Lynz exclaimed as she winked at Frank. 

 

Once each of them had taken a turn at being warmed up, they stood together again, pressed against the crowd in their trademark formation with Gerard in the middle, and waited for the imminent stroke of midnight. It was suddenly much closer to time than Gerard had thought. The giant clock above them read “11:54”. Gerard gulped, and gnawed at his bottom lip, trying desperately to choose who to kiss. He hadn’t spent a New Year's Eve with Frank since his marriage to Lynz, so Frank deserved a kiss on New Year's Eve from him, right? Lindsey would understand. Lindsey was his wife though, so he figured he should probably choose her. Frank would understand, right?

 

In the midst of Gerard’s thoughts, Frank turned to him and leaned in to whisper, “This _is_ kinda romantic, right? New Year's Eve in Time's Square? Thank you for taking me here tonight. I love you.” 

 

Fuck, it was like Frank knew about Gerard's inner turmoil and he was trying to convince Gerard to pick him. Frank’s sweet talk always worked on him, whether Frank meant for it to, or not.

 

Suddenly, the voices of thousands around him were counting down from ten. Gerard’s heart was beating so loud in his ears that he was surprised he could even hear the crowd at all. Maybe he would just have a panic attack and pass out, then he wouldn’t have to bother with the decision of who to kiss at all.

 

He looked at Frank. 

_ 8,7,6! _

He looked at Lindsey.

_ 5,4,3! _

He looked at Frank again. His eyes were bright and his mouth was open in an excited smile as he watched the ball ahead of them in anticipation. He looked so beautiful, and Gerard’s heart was tearing itself apart.

_ 2,1! _

Gerard’s head snapped forward too late. The ball dropped, and he hadn’t picked yet. 

 

Confetti rained down and the barrage of noises all around him slowly faded out to a muted silence as he realized two pairs of lips were pressed against each of his cold cheeks. He blinked and moved his eyes to see Frank’s smile plastered against his right cheek, his eyes closed, but crinkled in a full face grin. Gerard seemed to move in slow motion as he turned to his left to see Lindsey’s blissful face, with red lips painting a stain on Gerard’s other cheek and confetti decorating her black ponytail. She opened her eyes to see Gerard’s surely dumbfounded face, and winked playfully in response. 

 

The world suddenly caught up with Gerard, and he grabbed Frank and Lindsey around the shoulders, pulling them in for a big group hug in the middle of the chaos surrounding them. They all laughed and gripped tight to each other. Gerard felt silent tears welling up, and they fell into Lindsey’s hair as he clung tighter to his two favorite people. 

 

Once they all pulled away, and Gerard had wiped his tears, Lindsey yelled above the cheering and screams, “Happy New Year!” 

“Did you guys plan that?!” Gerard asked, incredulous.

Lindsey laughed in disbelief. “No! I was thinking all night about what to do at midnight. I wanted to let Frank kiss you if he wanted because you haven’t had a New Year’s together! I can't believe that happened!”

“That’s exactly what I was doing!” Frank yelled, confetti falling down his face and into his eyelashes. “She’s your fucking wife, I wasn’t going to take away your New Year’s kiss!” he giggled and pressed another kiss to Gerard’s cheek.

“Oh my god. I was trying to choose all night!” Gerard explained, running a hand through his hair, and pulling pieces of confetti from it.

“Oh, honey. That’s the whole point of this relationship, you don’t have to choose!” Lindsey said affectionately, cradling Gerard’s face in her hand and smiling in her way that always made Gerard feel warm.

“I know, I know,” he said steadily, looking at Lindsey, and then looking at Frank as the two of them stood in front of him, beaming. “I love you both so much,” he said, embracing them in a hug again.

“I love you too,” came the unison reply.


End file.
